Spain has rejected NATO's demand to spend 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense needs, calling it "unreasonable."
In a letter sent to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that Spain “cannot commit to a specific spending target as a percentage of gross domestic product” at the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague.
Most of the United States' NATO allies are expected to support US President Donald Trump's demand that they spend 5 percent of their gross domestic product on their military and defense needs.
In early June, Sweden and the Netherlands said they aim to achieve this new goal.
Of the 32 countries in the military alliance, Spain is the country with the lowest defense spending, spending less than 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defense.
In April, Sanchez said the Spanish government would increase defense spending by 10.5 billion euros to meet NATO's previous target of 2 percent of gross domestic product./REL
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